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Mon, 11 Aug 2003
Garish Zow #4
I've always liked anthologies because they give you a nice taste of a
lot of different artists. Garish Zow #4 is sort of a comics smorgasbord
if you will.
Rarely does every person like every dish, but as long as there's
enough, and the overall quality decent, it makes for a satisfying
meal.
This issue made a real leap forward from the earlier ones, both in terms of content and production values. Just as an object, it's lovely to look at and feels good in your hands, but that's not enough to make it good reading. This issue isn't just the prettiest one, it's also the funniest yet. The folks at Hidden Agenda Press show not only production savvy, but also refined editorial taste in their selection of stories. I'll just list a couple of my favorites.
MacBoth by Leland Purvis is my favorite piece, pulling off a brilliantly paced pantomime parable that is both fun to read and has a great message it delivers with nary a word balloon or sound effect.
A two-pager called Landscape by Andy Gouveia is short, and also silent but conveys it's message through facial expressions and body language. It's quick and fleeting, but shows lots of potential.
Struck Oil by Lou is just the kind of silent scatalogical space humor that makes me laugh. Giant robots and spacemen mix it up in a wacky moon mix-up.
As for stories with words, Actual Dream caused an actual spit-take when I read it while drinking. Written by Michael Allen and lovingly rendered by Chris Kohler, the story gives us a peek into the nocturnal wanderings of the author. I sort of wish I hadn't looked as Disneyland and Count Chocula blend together into a creamy blend of the cheerful and horrific, while managing to comment on the perverse machinations of modern corporate merchandising deals. The final punchline of this strip alone is worth the price of admission by itself.
Mount Philadelphia by Samuel Kienbaum and Hijinx's own Tim Goodyear is creepy and strange, with art evocative of Steve Ditko after donating blood. I'm not sure if the characters are F Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway, or just two dudes in a bar, but the tension in the conversation comes through as Ernest bums money off of Scott. At first I found some of the symbolism employed early on to be impenetrable, but upon subsequent reading I found it more accessible.
Not everyone will like every story in GZ #4, but I liked it enough to offer a full money-back guarantee on this issue. If you can read it without laughing out loud, bring it back and tell me I'm a moron.
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